ITxM DIAGNOSTICS WELCOMES DORLAIE CLEVA AS REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

Dorlaie M. (Figel) Cleva has joined the ITxM family as the Regional Sales Manager for the ITxM Diagnostics Coagulation Laboratory and ITxM Donor Testing. Dorlaie is based in Pittsburgh and currently works out of our offices at the Boulevard of the Allies facility. She obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree from California University, California, PA and was employed as a Medical Technologist at Monsour Medical Center in Jeannette, PA and Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV. She then worked at Albert B. Chandler Medical Center and Central Kentucky Blood Center, in Lexington, KY while simultaneously attending the University of Kentucky to obtain a Master of Education Degree. Dorlaie returned to the Pittsburgh area and became the Supervisor of Blood Bank at Braddock Medical Center. She also obtained an Associate of Science Degree in Business Management from Allegheny Community College in Pittsburgh, PA.

Dorlaie embarked on her sales career working for Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, first as an Alpha Fetoprotein Sales and Marketing Specialist and later as Corporate Account Manager selling Immunohematology and RIA reagents and instruments to national reference laboratories and hospitals throughout the US. Next at Sigma Diagnostics, she sold Coagulation and Chemistry reagents and instruments to local hospitals. Lastly, Dorlaie entered the pharmaceutical industry working for Pfizer and Reliant Pharmaceuticals.

Dorlaie recently married in September 2009. She and her husband Stan currently reside in CranberryTownship. When not working, they play golf as members of Treesdale Golf & Country Club and enjoy fitness and snow skiing. Stan owns and operates Auto Tech Performance car repair and sales in Glenshaw, PA.

COAGULATION INSTRUMENTATION & REAGENTS UPGRADED

The ITxM-Diagnostics Laboratory recently converted from Siemen’s BCS to Siemen’s BCS-XP Coagulation Analyzers for all Factor testing and Lupus Anticoagulant assays. This upgrade under the direction of Andrea Cortese Hassett, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, involved the main automated coagulation testing performed by the laboratory and also included the conversion to some new coagulation reagents. The newer instruments provide the laboratory with advanced computer technologies not available on the older models, faster processing potential and greater user control for new protocols.

In addition to upgrading the instrumentation, the ITxM-Diagnostics Coagulation Laboratory converted from Thromborel S® (Dade Behring) to Innovin® (Dade Behring) for Prothrombin (PT) and all PT-based assay, including the Extrinsic Factors (Factors II, V, VII, and X). Innovin® is used as an initiator of clotting via the extrinsic and common pathways in the global screening test, PT. Innovin® is a purified recombinant human tissue factor produced in E. coli, whereas Thromborel S® is produced from human tissues. Innovin® has a high ISI value, which is needed for calculating the INR from the PT. The high specificity of Innovin® derives from the fact that this reagent is manufactured through a recombinant process and does not contain any other clotting factors, such as prothrombin, Factor VII, or Factor X. The Innovin® reagent is not sensitive to Heparin. The major applications for the Innovin® reagent based upon the PT are (1) as a rapid screening test to detect deficiencies in the Extrinsic or Common Pathways (due to liver disease, vitamin K deficiency, hereditary/acquired defect); (2) as a sensitive monitoring tests for oral anticoagulant therapy; and (3) as an assay for specific coagulation factors.

There were five reference ranges that changed as a result of the implementation of these new instruments and reagents. These included the following:

Assay Normal Range
PT / PT-Mix 9.0-11.0 sec
APTT / APTT-Mix 30.0-42.0 sec
Factor VII 0.70-1.60 U/ml
Fibrinogen 150-400 mg/dL
Reptilase <20 sec

All other reference ranges remained the same. The new reference ranges went into effect on September 9, 2009.

While the older BCS units served the laboratory well for many years, the newer Siemen’s BCS-XP Coagulation Analyzers should provide improved technological instrumentation with less maintenance and repair problems for a number of years into the future. We want to thank all involved in this conversion, including those at Siemens, Kevin Young at Orchard Software Corporation, the entire laboratory staff of the ITxM-Diagnostics Coagulation Laboratory for their assistance, Karen Grasso and Sherri Kopko for computer interface assistance and Andrea Cortese Hassett, PhD, for leading this effort. For additional information or questions regarding this conversion, new ranges, new reagents or instrumentation, please contact Michael P. Meyer, Technical Supervisor, at 412-209-7353 or email at

mmeyer@itxm.org.